[img]853|left|Rabbi Nachum Shifren||no_popup[/img]Next Wednesday will be the one-year anniversary of state Sen. Curren Price’s non-perspiring triumph over his Republican challenger Rabbi Nachum Shifren in a special election for the seat vacated by Mark Ridley-Thomas, elected a County Supervisor.
No surprise.
Democrats always win in this part of Los Angeles, where the 26th Senate District covers a tank of gas geographically, from Inglewood to Hollywood.
The rabbi won 20 percent of the vote, which he said was impressive, but was a long way from even jarring the stranglehold that Democrats have maintained in modern times.
The rabbi and Sen. Price are having a rematch in three weeks, on Tuesday, June 8. In the tradition of underdogs, Rabbi Shifren, who is Orthodox, insists that he will not only improve on his showing but will win this time “because I am much better funded and much better organized than I was last year.”
Beyond habit and history, skeptics of Republican success abound for a web of reasons, primarily because Democratic registration gobbles up the dwarfed other side.
Accountability — “stopping financial waste and corruption in government and schools” — is the rabbi’s campaign theme. His watchwords are “No more excuses.”
He Is Different
A middle-aged rabbi/public school teacher with a majestic, traditional beard that immediately identifies his profession, Rabbi Shifren has carved a nifty career beyond the mainstream, dating back to his colorful youthful days when he was known as the Surfing Rabbi.
He is up against an awesome Democratic machine that has flicked away challengers as if they were horseflies.
“I learned a lot from last year’s experience,” says Rabbi Shifren. “I had no name recognition in any of the communities, Korean, African American, any of them. That has changed. I am known. I have campaign aides out in the communities, and they are networking. I have African American conservatives supporting me, and they are very active in their communities.”
Rabbi Shifren insists he can take away a big chunk of the black vote from Sen. Price, his main constituency.
For the many Democrats who would say that is folly, the rabbi disagrees in these terms:
“For too long, Los Angeles has taken for granted that blacks will vote Democrat. This year, that has changed. We have a 30 percent unemployment rate in the African American community. We have a state Senator, Curren Price, who does not represent them. “
Turning to a cornerstone conviction, marriage between a man and a woman, Rabbi Shifren says that black voters will trend to his candidacy because when Prop. 8 was on the ballot two years ago, “African Americans voted overwhelmingly, more than 70 percent, for the sanctity of marriage.
“On the issue of marriage, Sen. Price is completely out of step with the voters.
“On the issue of jobs, he is totally out of step with voters. With a 30 percent unemployment rate, my opponent sees nothing remiss about fixing the border. The African American community is being hammered by illegal aliens taking jobs.
“Anywhere you live in the community, in Crenshaw, off of Western Avenue, if you are a carpenter, a plumber, an electrician, a drywaller, you cannot compete with people who live 20 to a room.
“My opponent will not take action.”
What should Sen. Price do?
“He should initiate legislation to require
“(a) When you are employed, you need to show identification you are an American citizen.
“That is the law. Are people doing it? No.
“In our community, we have a situation with young people, minorities, many of them African Americans, who cannot get work. Why? In this time of depression, why are we still dealing with the issue of people coming from a foreign country, taking jobs away from Americans?”
Brimming, as usual, with optimism, Rabbi Shifren says:
“The Arizona anti-illegal immigrant law has wide support in the African American community. On those grounds alone, many African Americans will vote for me.”
rabbiforsenate.com
